May 27, 2009See you next month, Buzznet!I'm writing this to let you know that starting tonight, I will be COMPLETELY UNAVAILABLE BY ANY MODERN MEANS OF COMMUNICATION until June 6th! After 8 months of training and fundraising, I'm heading to San Francisco to participate in my second AIDS/LifeCycle ride with our other community admin, ElRich. I'll be riding all the way down to Los Angeles over the course of 7 days, startin on Sunday, May 31st. Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who has donated and helped spread the word. I'll be contacting people about prints and t-shirts once I get back! If you have a chance, please help Richard out with a donation if you can! He's still on his way to reaching his fundraising goal. Now, onto the nitty gritty! Buzznet Originals will continue while I'm gone. Question of the Day will be revisiting some old classics, as chosen by our group of wonderful mods. Daily Music Dose will continue to rock as well! There will be a new Photo Assignment on Friday, as well as my second entry in my "Please Explain To Me" series. I'll apologize in advance for that one, as it's sure to cause controversy and I'll be NOWHERE NEAR A COMPUTER TO DEFEND IT. OH THE TRAGEDY! If you have any community issues, please feel free to contact Breesays or email support: support [at] buzznet [dot] com. But only for EMERGENCIES. Don't email her because someone called you a douche or something. PLEASE DO NOT GIVE HER UNNECESSARY WORK. kthx guys. If you want to follow along on my adventure, please make sure to follow my Twitter account. Again, thank you all for the support and I'll see you on June 8th when I get back to work!
Posted by PanasonicYouth on 05/27/2009 4:23 PM Comments (4)
April 27, 2009Help me raise funds for AIDS/LifeCycle!Hey guys! I have decided to do the AIDS/LifeCyle again this year. (If you recall, last year Rich and I did the ride. It was, honestly, one of the best weeks of my life and I plan to make it even better this year. NOTE: FLICKR LINK TO PHOTO PRINTS IS NOW DOWN BELOW! If you have no clue what I'm talking about, allow me to explain. The AIDS/LifeCycle is bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles. The route is usually around 545 miles. (Though this year, due to construction, it might be 20-30 miles longer.) There are three main reasons for having this ride: 1) The physical challenge. I mean, seriously, 545 miles in one week. HOLY GOD. Also, this year, Rich and I will be doing the entire ride on FIXED GEAR BICYCLES because we cannot resist the temptation to be RIDICULOUS HIPSTERS AT ALL TIMES. (Actually, it's for the challenge, but let's not kid ourselves. I need the cool points.) 2) Fundraising! This year, we're required to raise $3,000. About a 1/3rd of that goes towards funding the ride: providing camping, food, showers, etc while I'm riding. The rest? It goes to the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center to provide funds for their HIV/AIDS healthcare services and work towards HIV prevention. This is INCREDIBLY important this year, as California has essentially stripped The Center of all of their government funding. I've been to the Center myself and the amount of help and medical care they provide to the community of Los Angeles is without parallel. Trust me when I say that this is one organization that needs and deserves any help you can give this year! 3) Awareness! A lot of people ask why this event is not just a fundraiser and why there's cycling attached. First of all, it's hard to get anyone to give to a charity, but if you feel as if you're "sponsoring" a friend or a relative, it's a bit easier to convince someone to help out. But I was shocked and pleasantly surprised how much direct activism and awareness goes into the ride itself. I had so many conversations with strangers while I biked down from Northern California. Obviously, people want to know where there are 3,000 cyclists coming through their city. And when you tell them you had to raise $3,000 each in order to ride, that you care so deeply about ending the plight of AIDS, and that you want others to know how they can help, it creates the kind of lasting impressions most activist organizations fail at. So here's the deal! I am about $2000 short of my goal this year; with the economy in the toilet like it is right now, it's been really hard to make my minimum amount. (I think it took me less than a month last year to make all $2,500.) So, this year, I'll be offering SHAMELESS GIFTS in exchange for any donations you can give me! If you donate $20 or more to my fund: I will HAND DELIVER you an "I Bike LA" shirt if you live in Los Angeles or any surrounding cities withing 20-30 miles. Otherwise, I'll mail it out to you! Here's what it looks like: If you donate $50 or more to my fund: I will HAND DELIVER you a print of one of my photographs if you live in Los Angeles/surrounding cities! Or...well yeah, I'll mail you the print if you don't live close. LINK TO MY FLICKR SET. There are 18 photos in the set! IN ORDER TO DONATE, PLEASE VISIT MY DONATION PAGE TO GIVE MONEY! The site takes credit cards and you will also be given a receipt for your taxes! (It will arrive in the mail a few weeks later.) Anything helps, even if it's not $20. If you can't donate, please forward this journal on to other people so that they can possibly help! Send it to your parents, your friends, to teachers and counselors...more exposure helps the cause! Thanks a million, guys. This really means a lot to me.
Posted by PanasonicYouth on 04/27/2009 12:52 PM Comments (28)
June 13, 2008One Week Later: Back Home & Hating It
Seven days ago, at around this very hour, I was stuffed in a van. I was kidnapped by a group of people that were from the future. They said they came to the past because in their world, transportation via bicycle is no more. Scientists in the future created a highway network of rainbows on which the mighty pegasus takes to wing and transports human cargo to any destination in no time at all. These visitors come to the past for the mighty challenge that is the Aids Life Cycle; 545 miles of riding a bike from San Francisco to Los Angeles. I was tossed in the back seat with the luggage because I am small and compact. I would like to say we were crammed like sardines in a can but we weren't. Maybe everyone else was, but I felt rather comfy. The view from the back seat looked like this:
 Since I was in the back, no one wanted to talk to me. Having a dull sense of humor and being vulgar is frowned upon in some circles. I became rather lonely. I did, however, happen to make a new friend. He told me his name was Donald Roofington of Vanshire. I was pleased to make his aquaintance. He let me take his photo:  The journey northward was uneventful. We stopped to eat, fill the vans up with gas, and eat again. There was a possible attack by a bird but I am not supposed to talk about that. In the future, birds are the Time Police. That is all I can say. I thought the following photo was interesting:  That's right folks. A cologne dispenser. Not only do you get to smell like you've been driving for x amount of hours, the Taco Bell/Pizza Hut food combo stop, and the gas station - you get to smell like Eternity for a quarter. Upon arriving in San Frankie, I was dumbfounded. It has been at least 3 years since my last visit to said city but sweet baby Jebus, has it changed. THERE ARE BIKES EVERYWHERE!!!! There were bikes locked to every conceivable hitching posts and bikes locked to those bikes. I equate the look of all this bike madness to something found in nature:  I know this is a stretch but just think of all those crabs as bikes. Then think of a very urban background. That's what San Fran looks like. San Francisco is fun. Fun as in OMG BIKES, GAY STUFF, and OMG MORE GAY STUFF. Here is a picture of a map:  Notice how the train lines are rainbow-like in their color scheme. I can think of two things that are the same way:   ** Please Note** I like gays. I like Junior World Champions. These photos are side by side to illustrate the color schemes of San Fran's Tube system. Yay. There were 7 days of riding time. I only took this one photo:  This happy pumpkin was in Paso Robles. Please notice the iron cat cut-out on the post. I took some pictures of those but on a different camera. I was too busy biking hundreds of miles, enjoying the most beautiful scenery EVAR, smelling strawberry fields, and feeling the wind on my face to take pictures. I will dig some up and write accordingly. Thanks for reading!
Posted by Gabriel's Gonna Rollerblade on 06/13/2008 10:30 AM Comments (5)
June 10, 2008I completed the AIDS LifeCycle 7 ride.
Taken from a post I made on another board....
There's really no way to describe the experience other than saying it was life-changing. And I know that term can be thrown around a lot and it should hold more weight than it's usually given. But this literally changed my life: How I view HIV and AIDS, how I view my own physical ability, how I view other people, and how I feel about the power of community. Since it was my first time, everything about getting the ride set up the day before was unecessarily stressful; it didn't help I forgot half of my stuff and they messed up our tent assignments. However, once I began to roll out of Cow Palace on Sunday, June 1, I began to realize the full scope of what I was doing. The first day was insane. Imagine huddling with thousands of other cyclists from every demographic imaginable: old, young, male, female, gay, straight, bi, Christian, atheist, poor, rich, newbies and veterans. And imagine that, before you've even completed a mile, there are hundreds of people lining the streets, cheering you on, crying, calling you a hero, telling you that you're actually making a difference in the world. It's overwhelming, to say the least. That first day was such a clusterfuck of emotions: excitement, anticipation, terror, and elation. By the time things evened out (the first 10 miles were so packed, it was impossible to peak beyond 10mph) and the road began to drift quickly under my feet, we'd left South San Francisco and were heading to Half Moon Bay. It was 84 miles from our start location to our camp in Santa Cruz. The route saw us hugging lakes, dangling precariously on the edge of cliffs, and bombing through forests. In short: The route was mind-numbing in its beauty. Training in LA had some perks; once you get out of the city, there are a ton of quasi-open roads and long hills. But this was insane: Bike highways (that were numbered!!!!!), bike lanes, cars that passed you with a respectable distance, and hundreds of people along the route to keep you energized. I took advantage of all the rest stops to enjoy the area. Of particular note was the hellish climb up Skyline Drive and Highway 35, and then bombing down a 7% grade with 20mph winds. Incredible. Most of the route was on the rolling hills of Highway 1 along the ocean. Gorgeous. Camping was interesting; we'd heard the
vegetarian meals weren't vegan friendly, so the vegan members of the
team had stocked up on vegan camp meals, but that first night in Santa
Cruz, we lucked out; the entire meal was vegan. I was fucking STARVING
by the time I rolled into camp. I ate three consecutive plates of salad
and vegan spaghetti and meatballs. (Binge eating became a common theme
of the trip.)
It was also weird how, over the course of the week, I'd see certain people about 20 times a day and others I'd see once and never again. It was at random rest stops, climbing slowly up massive hills, and relaxing at camp that I began to familiarize myself with the people around me. There were a lot of newbies like myself, but plenty of veterans. What surprised me the most (and made the most lasting impression) was meeting the HIV positive riders (the Positive Pedalers) who were actually benefiting from the services provided by the organization I'd just raised $2,500 for. This is what was so surreal: you met the people who were receiving the money you'd raised and it was such an eye-opener. Here were people who were alive (and well!) because they'd received financial help from the San Francisco AIDS Foundation or the LA Gay and Lesbian Center. It was these people who validated the ride for me. Sure, it was definitely a test of my physical limitations, but the ride had morphed into something much more in those first few days. Day Two saw us traveling 106.5 miles from Santa Cruz to King City, with, easily, the most mind-fucking route I've ever ridden. It'll be hard to top. Imagine starting out in a beach city, then traveling through redwoods, then foggy farmland, then acres of artichokes and broccoli, then hopping on a freeway and heading through nearly 40 miles of MIND BLOWING wineland, AND THEN climbing up a hill against 25mph winds, AND THEN heading south along a mountain ridge with tailwinds that made it possible for me to ride 30+mph ON FLAT GROUND. Fucking insane. Day 3 was painful for me; I rode the 106.5 mile route with an average of 17.8mph for the entire trip. Which is FAST for a century. I slept on my leg wrong and the lower portion of my IT band adhered to my cross quad muscle, so the 64 mile route to Paso Robles sucked for the first half, as my muscle kept tearing off the quad and reattaching itself to the wrong spot. But the route was basically one long 12 mile hill, and then 52 mils of rolling downhills for the rest of the day. Our lunch break was in the city of Bradley. Their population? 120 people. Surreal, to say the least. The BBQ they have funds their ENTIRE school for the next year. Another example of how a community can band together to help another one. Totally amazing. The end of day 3 (for the last 9 miles) was basically a winding back road behind wineries and old farms. Almost no cars and nothing but PERFECT weather. Day 4 was also a bit rough for me, as the massage I'd gotten on my leg to work out all the shit on my IT band left me feeling better overall, but the pain had localized to a tiny spot about 6 inches above my knee, on my right hamstring. Yikes. The morning started at an elevation of around 750 feet and featured the "Evil Twins." Collectively, 4 miles of steep climbing (though nothing worse than Sulphur Mountain Road in Ojai, which is, to date, the steepest hill I've ever climbed). I stretched a lot and the first half of the route wasn't so bad, but the INSANE sidewinds coming into Santa Maria were brutal. Imagine winds so hard that your bike is physically pushed to the side; many times, I thought I'd just tip over into oncoming traffic. The total mileage ending up being 96.5 miles, with the last 10.5 miles featuring some incredible tail winds. Awesome! Day 5 is traditionally Red Dress Day; everyone wears red (and typically women's clothing) to appear as one giant red band to symbolize the plight of AIDS. It's also the shortest route: 43.5 miles. Super fun and beautiful route with thee BRUTAL hills, easily the hardest and worst of the whole ride. I'm talking about hills the keep going up, seem to end, then turn and shoot up another mile. Team Midnight Ridazz trained on 5-15 mile long hills, all worse than any one on the ALC, but it paid off. As hard as the hills were, none of them were as bad as they could have been. Lompoc was awesome and I felt great to have a good ride that wasn't so incredibly painful as the past two days. From there, day 6 was an 88 mile ride down the coast from Lompoc to Santa Barbara and then into Ventura. I wasn't sore anymore and I fucking RIPPED IT all day. Got in a few quick pacelines, destroyed the hills, enjoyed the scenery, and had a goddamn wonderful time. One of the training rides I'd done was the Cubcamp Extra Credits ride: Santa Barbara to Silverlake. (Overnight, of course.) So we traced a great deal of the same route from Santa Barbara onwards, including the route on the final day. It was refreshing to be right next to the ocean for so long, but I did notice how much shittier the drivers are in Southern California when compared with those we'd encountered in Northern California. Maybe I should move! There was a candlelight vigil in Ventura that night and it was a sobering moment of a community banding together in sorrow and in hope. We mourned those we lost and watched our flickers of hope that we'd find a way to end AIDS, or atleast raise the money that could do this. But there was also a mixed sense of excitement and sadness that such an incredible trip was coming to a close the next day. We'd truly lived in a bubble for 6 days. Here, it was ok to be bike nerds, to subject ourselves to such extreme lengths of physical pain, to care about others, and to be united in our efforts to end a disease. And in less than 24 hours, we'd have to return to a world that didn't care as much as we did. The final day was 63.5 miles from Ventura to LA, all familiar territory that I'd either biked or driven down. Blasting around Port Hueneme and then arching right next to the Pacific....fuck. What a feeling. I know I hate on LA a lot (and for good reason), but I had just spent 7 days seeing everything that was good about it. I loved California that day. I loved it so much. Our team met at the Malibu Bluffs, just 18 miles from the finish line, so we could ride as a team into Westwood. Those final miles went by so quickly. For the entire week, we hadn't rode together as a team; everyone rode at different speeds and awoke at different times. All of us wearing that Midnight Ridazz jersey, blazing past everyone in a solid paceline down PCH and then San Vicente...man. I can only imagine how that must have looked. Just like in San Francisco, when we left, the streets were lined with supporters miles from the finish line. There were signs and songs and peace signs flashed from passing vehicles. And as we briefly assembled to ride that last quarter mile into the VA Center, all the emotions I'd felt that week came rushing towards me. We mashed the final hill and then we were suddenly there. 545 miles in 7 days. As we entered the route, encapsulated between screaming crowds, I was surprised to see my mom, my brother, and his fiance cheering me on. And I started to tear up as I crossed the finish line. We all began to hug each other and there was so much joy in our voices and our embraces that I don't know if I could ever do justice with any sort of explanation. It was elation and relief and pain and joy all at the same time. It's weird typing this now, because I've felt so listless and useless since the ride ended. I feel like I should be fundraising. I feel like I should be getting up at 4:30am and packing my tent and eating shitty oatmeal for 7 days in a row and worrying if the day's lunch is vegan. I feel like I should have a bike between my legs, pedaling as fast as I can to some distant location, just to do it all over again the next day. This was, without a doubt, the single greatest experience of my life. And as long as I have a way to ride a bike, I want to do this every single year until I die. I can't imagine a better way to spend a week's vacation.
Posted by PanasonicYouth on 06/10/2008 10:04 AM Comments (23)
May 29, 2008Richard and I are off to complete AIDS LifeCycle 7!
Starting tomorrow morning, I won't have access to Buzznet until late in the day on June 7th. The time has come; we're both riding in the 7th AIDS LifeCycle. Between the two of us, we've raised over $5,000 for the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center to provide healthcare for those affected by AIDS and for the prevention of AIDS.
Our ride starts on Sunday, June 1st. 545 miles and 7 days later, we'll be in Los Angeles. Frightening and insane? Yes, but I can't imagine a better way to combine my love for activism and my love for bikes. You can follow me on Twitter and LiveJournal since I won't have internet access for a while. (THANK GOD.) There's actually a Twitter widget embedded in my shout out box. I'll also have a Buzznet phone to snap photos and video! If you have any community issues, feel free to hit up Breesays through her profile or email (bmcguire@buzznet.com) while I'm gone. BEHAVE. Just 'cuz I'm not moderating with an iron fist doesn't mean Bree won't be. I expect a good report when I return! So yeah! Rich and I are terrified and so excited to do this. Thank you to everyone who donated! It means the world to me!
Posted by PanasonicYouth on 05/29/2008 7:03 PM Comments (33)
March 2, 2008Support Buzznet for AIDS LifeCycle 2008!
This year, two Buzznet employees (myself and Richard) will be riding from San Francisco to Los Angeles in 7 days in order to raise funds to help combat the spread of AIDS. That's 545 miles; we start riding on June 1st and roll to the finish line in front of the federal building on June 7th.
Why are we doing this? It's a form of activism that has immediate results; by raising money for the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center, we will provide funding to help keep the employees working towards providing education, medical care, and the knowledge to help stop this epidemic that continues to ravage our nation. We're required to raise $2,500, at the very least, in order to ride. About 1/3 of this will cover the cost of keeping us on the road: vehicle and maintainence support, food, camping, and other necessary items to get us down to Los Angeles. But the other 2/3 will go directly towards funding programs and the continued work of the LA Gay & Lesbian Center. How can you help? Any donation, no mater how small or large, will not only help us out, but provide the necessary monetary support to an organization trying to institute positive change for this world. This is my LifeCycle page. This is Richard's LifeCycle page. There is a very easy (and tax deductible!) way to send the organization money on our behalf using a credit or debit card. If you're not old enough, ask your parents! Show them this blog, show them our pages, and explain to them what we're doing to take a stand against AIDS. If you don't fancy credit or debit, you can paypal me the money and I'll send you screenshots of the transaction to show I submitted it on your behalf. If you'd like to do this, leave a comment below and I'll contact you. You guys know how passionate I am about political action and cycling. This is my chance to combine the two and hopefully save a life in the process. If you have any question, feel free to ask me below. Many, many thanks if you can help Richard or myself out!
Posted by PanasonicYouth on 03/02/2008 11:43 AM Comments (13)
December 31, 2007Chevy Chase ALC Training Ride
Sunday Morning, Dec. 30, 2007.
Time: 9 a.m-ish Mileage: 40ish Yes, there actually is a street called Chevy Chase. It's in Glendale. It also sucks. It turns into these crazy hills and I didn't know what the hell I was getting myself into untill it was too late. This ride went all over the damn place. From Glendale, Burbank, and back to I don't even where. This ride would have been a pain in the ass if it weren't for the awesome company. Everyone is getting into the groove of training for the AIDS Life Cycle ride in June. That's going to be a 500 mile(I think), week long ride in June. Getting used to hills and getting some good mileage is crucial. We don't want to be in San Francisco and decide this is too much to do. I think the highlight for me was riding the side streets of Burbank while Ephemera (someone's screen name from the Midnight Ridazz boards) sang the U.S National Anthem. This was no regular anthem, mind you. It was him doing a Norweigan Death Metal version of said song. It was probably the best thing I've heard in a while. We all got some good eats at India Sweets and Spices towards the end of our ride. A few bucks got you a plate of lentils, veggies, a samosa, some breads, and a curry of your choice. Some folks got the pumpkin-mango curry. That was some good eats! Nothing like a good meal after a good haul. We were going to end our meal with some tasty vegan ice cream from Scoops but alas, it was closed down for maintenance. We were kind of bummed. An interesting thing happened on the way there, though. While we were maybe a mile away, some lady and her daughter decided to lay on the horn behind us. I guess the other lane wasn't enough for her or maybe she just forgot how to not be an asshole and just go around. The daughter decides to yell "Get the fuck out of the road!" From there, the chase was on. The car caught a red and was quickly swarmed. The daughter rolls up the window while Mark, yelling at his best, states we have full use of the lane according to California Vehicular Code 21000. I pull to the left of the car and stay in the way so that the car can't turn left. Plenty of others are blocking the car from moving forward. I moved so the car could roll out and then the daughter decides to open her mouth and scream, "Fuck you, faggots!" Hooray for 3rd grade insults while YOU'RE DRIVING AWAY. Biking in L.A. is something else with hooligans like these.  That's me, eating the heck out of the spoke card for the ride. The only thing is, I have yet to develope the enzymes that will allow me to maximize the nutritional value of my new love for laminated food stuffs.  The leader of the pack, Danny (yellow jersey). This was his ride. Carla (green fixed gear) is a trooper and a half. Sunny (Raleigh) bringin' it, as always.  That's Mark (panasonicyouf's on the KHS), Lance (Cannondale), Gary (Bianchi- that bike must weigh 2 pounds-the fastest thing on 2 wheels), Steve-o, dude on a scott, and the other dude on a hybrid is ephemera on the MR boards.  I was busy being last.  Indian nom nom's at India Sweets 'n Spices. Whole lotta yum for not a lotta moneys.
Posted by Gabriel's Gonna Rollerblade on 12/31/2007 7:39 PM Comments (6)
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